Friday
by Twentyoneletters
Summary: 'The name's Hermione, you know'  'And my name isn't Ron,' the words slipped out so quickly that even Draco, himself, was shocked. Rated for sexual content in later chapters. SEQUEL TO MY ONE-SHOT, 'THIRTEEN HOURS'.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Merely borrowing J. K. Rowling's lovely characters.

**Status: **Sequel to 'Thirteen Hours'. Subsequent chapters are already written and will be posted in 5 instalments, this being the first.

**Friday**

**Chapter 1**

Hermione was seated at her favourite corner, by the window of The Three Broomsticks. Tonight was one of the rare nights that the bar was empty. There were only three other occupants. A wizard sat at the back, downing flasks after flasks of firewhisky and a couple sat huddled together in a booth, sharing a large clear mug of some frothy pink fluid.

Her own hands were cupped around a mug of Butterbeer. She looked of the window. The sun was setting in the far horizon. It was a very apt and beautiful setting for the special occasion. It was Valentine's Day.

It explained why the bar was so empty that night. The Three Broomsticks was not the most romantic of places.

Wizards, dressed up as Cupid, were trawling the streets, cajoling the passers-by into buying flowers. The trees littered around Hogsmeade were bewitched to have leaves in the shape of the heart. Everywhere she looked, she saw pink and red; the colours of love. Couples flooded the streets, each pair so absorbed in their own private bubble of joy, it was almost nauseating. She remembered a time she had it too and she forgave them. It seemed like such a long time ago.

Hermione had always loved Ron, and she knew he felt the same way for her. On more than one occasion, she had even fantasised her name being imprinted on a hand of the Weasley's grandfather clock someday. It just took her some time to realise that they were never _in love_. A year and twenty days to be precise and almost a year had passed since then.

She remembered how it had all begun. Ironically, it had happened on the _morning after_…

_She dropped the coat._

_Her world was spinning. She could not see a thing, could not hear a thing and for a moment, she feared that she had become blind and deaf again. Her feet and hands were numb, her mind was on hiatus. She could not think straight. Then she heard someone calling, it was as if someone had splashed cold water on her face, and her senses returned._

'_Anybody here?' Ron's voice echoed in the empty clearing._

_Hermione ran out of the hut immediately._

'_Hermione!' Relief coursed through him as he ran forward and caught her in a swift embrace._

''_mione, oh 'mione. It's you! I'm so sorry, I'm so glad it's you who called for help. Good heavens, you're okay. I'm so sorry,'mione, I tried getting here faster, but the snow. Merlin, I shouldn't have left you alone,' he hugged her tighter._

_His reaction upon seeing her now confirmed her earlier suspicions. It had not been Ron she had spent the night with. She grimaced. How could she have been so stupid? A wave of overdue emotions came crashing down upon her and suddenly, it became too much to bear. She started sobbing. _

''_mione, are you okay?' Ron released her and held her out at arm's length as he searched her body anxiously for any signs of injury or pain to explain her tears. He wore a worried expression when he found no visible wound on her._

'_Oh Ron, I… I'm okay, I'm not hurt. I… I managed to heal myself. I'm just so glad to see you. I was afraid… I… I'm just…' He shushed her and hugged her to him again._

'_It's okay, it's over. Harry, he killed him. Voldermort is dead! It's over, there's nothing more to fear,' Ron comforted her._

'_I… I knew he would. I had faith in him,' she said, her sobs slowly subsiding. 'But… how? How had you found me here?'_

'_The red light you sent up! Harry said we should start looking for survivors. The snow could be hindering them from returning to headquarters, and we had received a couple of signals for help,' Ron explained._

_Hermione slowly digested his answer. Red light? She had done nothing of the sort. _

_Malfoy. She thought. He had sent for help._

_But before she could speak her thoughts, Ron had grabbed her two hands in his. _

_Hermione looked at him in surprise. _

'_I know now may not be the best of times, but I'm afraid I can't wait any longer. I just need to know now, I need to have you now. Hermione Jean Granger, will you be my girlfriend?' His ears had gone pink and Hermione was sure it was not from the cold._

_Hermione's jaw fell open and she quickly recovered. 'Oh Ron!' She exclaimed, a bright smile replacing her look of surprise. 'Of course I will! Yes yes yes. Of course Ron! I love you,' she squealed as he lifted her off the ground and twirled her around in mid-air._

'_Do you mean it?' He asked as he finally settled her back down. She nodded, giddy with joy._

_Ron broke into the widest grin. 'I love you too, Hermione!_

_And at that moment, she forgot about what happened the night before. She forgot about the other boy. She forgot about the cold, the war, the coat. In the light of what just happened, they suddenly paled in significance. She was with the boy she had loved for the longest time. The boy who had now covered her lips with his. And at that point in time, it was all that had mattered._

He was the epitome of the ideal boyfriend. It surprised her though, for in their fourth year after the Yule Ball, she had overheard a conversation between Parvati and Lavender. The exact words had been – 'I suggest you don't go for him, Lavender. He's a stinking, clueless dingbat. A troll would have known how to treat a girl better.'

She guessed he had perhaps bribed Ginny into giving him a lesson or two in love.

They were the model couple, the perfect happy ending to the dark days. _War Heroes Brave the Storm of Love. The Love Story: An exclusive interview with our favourite couple. Harry Potter's Sidekicks Fall in Love. _Headlines after headlines, each cheesier than the previous, had tainted the pages of every newspaper and magazine. For several weeks, pictures of Hermione and Ron hugging had flooded the newsstands. The media adored them and they each had their fair share of fan mails and well-wishes from random strangers which were enough to rival their other best friend. The media had painted a perfect love story but it was far from the truth.

They quarrelled all the time.

'_Good heavens, Ron! You can be so clueless sometimes, you know that? You don't hold my hand when we go out anymore, you never hold the door open for me anymore, you don't tell me I'm beautiful anymore, you never asked me where I would like to dine at anymore. It had become all about you! And all that was fine. I could close one eye, I could ignore them. But sex! You can't just leave like that! You can't just 'cum-and-go' all the time! I'm not just some cheap slut you patronise. And you still had the cheek to tell me I'm overreacting,' Hermione took a deep breath.' A troll would know how to treat me better!' She finished._

_Ron looked like he had been slapped in the face. His face was red with anger._

'_Go on! Go date a troll then! Is that what you were doing with one in the toilet back then? I'm sorry me and Harry interrupted. You think you know everything, Hermione! It's not like you've even had sex before me. You know what? You are such an insufferable know-it-all, and I've had enough!' Ron retorted angrily._

'_And while we're playing the confession game, I might as well tell you.' Ron continued on. 'I have been seeing Lavender Brown. You remember her don't you? She's now the fashion editor for Witch Weekly and well, let's just say, she knows fashion,' Ron eyed Hermione up and down with a look of distaste. _

_Hermione gasped. Her hand had moved to grab her wand and she pointed it at Ron with a shaky hand. 'Get out, Ron.' She said in the calmest voice she could muster. 'Get out now,'_

'_You didn't have to tell me twice,' He glared at her and Disapparated._

That had been the final blow.

Of course they made up. They were best friends after all, and best friends forgive and forget. He had gone by the next day and apologised. He admitted that he had stretched the truth by a far bit. He had not been _seeing_ Lavender Brown. He merely _saw_ her on the few occasions when she had dropped by the ministry to meet Parvati for lunch. He had also hugged her and assured her that she was far more beautiful than Lavender and he would always love her, but he was not _in love_ with her anymore. And she had accepted the apology, accepted the break up, had even helped him court Lavender, even though it tore her heart apart and she spent weeks after crying in bed. It was just in her nature to place others before herself. She had done it with her parents (they had been furious when they had found out), and she was doing it again, for Ron. He had moved on and she had, – still loved him.

'Never seen the streets so lively since the celebration after the war, huh,' Madam Rosmerta said behind her and blushed when she realised how insensitive that must have sounded to Hermione, who was alone on Valentine's Day.

'Yeah, it's beautiful,' she agreed, smiling at the older woman. She had been part of the celebrations after the war. And it was a massive event which dragged on for months.

The memories of the war always flashed in her mind accompanied by a myriad of emotions. A part of her heart ached for her fallen comrades, _Neville, Luna_, _Lupin, Tonks, so many… Not dead, but resting._ She reminded herself.

Yet another part mirrored Mrs Weasley's immense joy and relief. The entire Weasley clan had made out of the war, unscathed, save for George's missing ear and Charlie's burnt left arm. It had been dubbed a 'miracle' by The Daily Prophet. And it was a miracle indeed.

Another fraction relished the freedom Harry had earned for the entire wizarding world. The use of the name, 'You-know-who' had been abolished and Voldermort had finally become a mere nightmare of the past.

Finally, there was a portion where she spent a great deal of effort cleaving out from her memories. The reason behind her guilt each time she made love to Ron during the one year and twenty days; the excuse she gave herself each time she gave in to Ron's unreasonable arguments; her survival story; a frequent visitor to her dreams. It always made her wonder – _what if…_

She shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind. She had one too many butterbeers and all the lovey dovey atmosphere was messing with her head. She scolded herself mentally for forgetting that it was Valentine's Day today. She had grown used to being single but seeing happy couples often reminded her of how lonely she actually felt. Her friends all had someone; Harry had Ginny while Ron had Lavender. She sighed. She should have just stayed at home and watched television.

She placed some money on the table, waved goodbye to Madam Rosmerta and walked out.

_A nice and warm shower would be nice. Following which, she would pamper herself with a new book she had bought. _She thought to herself as she fumbled in her coat pockets for the keys to her apartment.

She stepped into her apartment and flipped on the lights. For a moment she stood paralysed with fear as she observed the mess in her small but cosy apartment. Then she grabbed her wand as instincts kicked in and moved silently into her apartment. Clothes were strewn everywhere.

She started as something furry came bounding up to her. She picked up the orange and white bundle of fur in her arms and as realisation struck her, she heaved a sigh of relief and laughed to herself.

'Dr. Peppers, oh, you naughty little kitten! Messing about in my wardrobe again, haven't you?' She scolded it. The little kitten she had bought from her last trip to Diagon Alley purred its affirmation sweetly.

Crookshanks lay lazily on the couch and eyed them with an expression of distaste. He was rarely friendly to any creature. The only friend it had willingly made and adored was Sirius.

Hermione let the cat down and it bounded about the house, knocking over a vase of flowers. Ron had chastised her when she had bought it. 'First a tiger and now this! Your taste in cats is atrocious!'

'Reparo,' she flicked her wand to the vase and started picking up her clothes.

With her wand, she folded her clothes and stuffed them neatly back into her wardrobe. She was about to undress when her eyes fell upon the coat she had missed. It was lying on her bed, surrounded by a trail of orange fur. She sighed. She had been teaching Dr. Peppers to not get on her bed. She cleaned the fur with her wand and picked up the coat to replace it in the wardrobe.

_It was made of leather, and the insides were woven with soft velvet. The trimmings were exquisite and the buttons, they could be made of genuine silver._

And just like that, the memories came flooding back.

_'I love you too, Hermione. Always have, always will.' _She collapsed onto her bed.

_I love you too, Hermione._The words were replaying like a broken record tape. _I love you too, Hermione. Always have, always will._

She closed her eyes._ Always have, always will._

She took a deep breath. _I love you too, Hermione._ _Always have, always will._

_Always have. _She rubbed her temples. _Always will._

_Always have, always will._

She opened her eyes. Dr. Peppers was at the foot of her bed, purring innocently.

She was not one to dabble in fate, divinations, kismet, and the likes. She had proven this point when she walked out on Professor Trelawny in her third year. But her entire life, she had religiously played by the rules. If not for Harry and Ron, her life in Hogwarts would surely have been boring. It was time to take a gamble, to take a shot at what could have been. She had to stop ignoring the persuasions of her heart. She was no coward. She made up her mind.

_Damned this Valentine's Day. She should not have gone out in the first place. _She thought miserably.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

'Would it hurt you to knock?' Draco Malfoy grumbled without looking up.

'Never pegged you as a ministry man,'

His head shot up at the sound of her voice and he was beyond relief to note that she was not looking at him but was surveying his office. Her head fell upon the plague at the side of his desk. He watched as her eyes read the words on it, 'Head of The Department, International Magical Cooperation'.

Percy had been eyeing this position ever since he had graduated from Hogwarts and Hermione was secretly satisfied that he had failed to secure the position. He was not her favourite Weasley.

'Nice place you've got here,' she said brightly. She had heard from Harry that Mr Weasley shares his small, dinghy office with a colleague and she guessed that with authority comes a bigger office.

Draco's heart was racing, or skipping a beat, or it had stopped. Either way, it was most definitely not functioning normally. It had been – what – two years? She had tormented him every day and night, even though she was probably unaware. He saw her in his dreams. He saw her in his memories. He even saw her face on his occasional sex escapades with those random dim-witted girls that he picked up when he needed to unwind. And now, here she was, right before his eyes. It was as if she was punishing him for his past in Hogwarts.

He had not seen her _since_… Even though he was now a ministry man, there just were not many opportunities. After all, Malfoys and Muggleborns, they just did not mingle. He had to admit that she was looking great as usual, better than the last time he had seen her, and that was saying something. The simple yet tasteful dress she had donned on did wonders to her figure. It made him recall an article he had read about her.

_Witch Weekly: How do you maintain such a stunning figure?  
>Hermione Granger (Laughs): Wow, you're too kind. Well, I guess I walk a lot? I try not to Apparate if I can walk.<em>

_How very muggle. _He had thought. He despised how a part of him wanted to leap over his desk and engulf her in a hug. It was pathetic. He felt foolish. There was no way she mirrored his thrill in meeting him. _Hell, she looked more interested in his office._

He forced a scowl on his face.

'What do you want, Granger? I'm a busy _ministry man,_' He mocked her.

A look of shock passed across her face as she registered his rudeness but she recovered quickly.

'Can I come in?' She asked.

'Would it stop you if I say no?' He said tersely.

Hermione stared at him for a long time, her eyes bored into his, trying to read him. _Well, she may be a bookworm, but he was no book._ His eyes revealed no hint of softness and for a moment, she wondered if she may have been mistaken. _I love you too, Hermione. Always have, always will. _It was definitely him. She took a cautious step into his office.

'Spit it out, Granger. I don't have all day,' He said impatiently.

'I know,' she said softly.

'Good that you know, so get on with it,' he replied coldly.

'No, I know,' she repeated. 'I know, Draco.'

He pretended that he had not registered her use of his first name and watched as she rummaged through her bag and extricated a coat. _His coat._ He had clean forgotten about it. He cursed himself mentally for forgetting about it when he had left her. She placed it on the table, in front of him.

He did not speak, could not speak in fact.

For two years, he had suffered. He had collected every single article about her, even those of her and her Weasel boyfriend. He had stored them in a chest and locked it away in a safe, where no one would be able to find and expose his secret. It had been the only way for him to stay in touch.

For two years, the memories, so sad yet beautiful, had been etched in his memories, clinging onto the threads of his mind like a stubborn cold. He had replayed that night a million times over. He had toyed with the ending, wondering what could have been… He had questioned his behaviour far more times than he could count.

For two years, he was forced to grapple with his temptations to hunt her down. But he could not bring himself to do so. What could he have said to her?_ Hey Granger, remember that night in the hut when you thought you lost your virginity to Weasley? Well yeah, it wasn't Weasley you had sex with, it was me. _He was sure she would have no reserves in using the killing curse on him.

And yet, for two whole years, she had known. She had known it all along and yet she did not find him. She did not have the courage to look for him. _Stinking Gryffindors and all their talk about courage. She was just as much a coward as he was. _And now, she simply waltzed into his office, two years later, looking all divine. Did she expect him to crush her against his desk and continued where they left off two years ago? He had no time for games. The vision of him stepping out of the hut flashed across his mind. He could not risk the heartache again.

'It's not mine,' he said simply, looking back down at the papers before him.

'Well, I don't know any other D. Malfoys around,' she shot back.

He did not reply.

'Listen Malfoy, I owe you one for saving my life and I do not like owing favours. Let me cook you a meal. 7pm,' it came out sounding like an order rather than an invitation. She placed a piece of paper, on which she had scrawled her address in neat cursive writing, on his desk.

'Save the trouble. I won't be there,' he replied, not glancing up.

'I'll be waiting,' she turned and left.

* * *

><p><em>Who did she think she was? <em>He thought, infuriated. _She was still the same, bossy as ever. He was a Malfoy after all. He gave orders and never received them. He was not one to be pushed around. Well, he would show her. He would not show up._

He caught his reflection in his bedroom mirror. He was twenty and at the height of his manhood. He knew he was stunning and any female on the streets could attest to that. Furthermore, his mother reminded him of that fact daily. _'I don't know why a stunning man like you is still single. You know, Draco, I met Astoria that day. She has blossomed into such a lovely young lady. You're welcomed to join us for brunch some time, you know?' _

'_Yeah, and spend my afternoon gossiping about me? No thanks.' It would get her off his back for one day._

The next day would be the same. _'Pansy, you dated her back in Hogwarts, didn't you? Well, she had done something to her nose. She's actually looking pretty…'_

Draco sighed. He strode out into his garden and handpicked a bundle of white lilies. Then he stood before the Manor's fireplace and floo'd against his will.

* * *

><p>It was already 7.30pm. She paced the lengths of her apartment, chewing at her lip nervously.<p>

_He would not come. What had she been thinking anyway? It had been most foolish of her to barge into his office and demanded to have dinner with him. _They called her 'The brightest witch of our times' but sometimes she marvelled at her intelligence, or rather, the lack thereof.

Her cats were stretched out on her couch, watching her curiously.

She knew she had handled the invite rather coolly, but in actual fact, she had been a bundle of nerves. She should have felt violated, furious even, but nervous? Definitely not. Draco Malfoy had had sex with her despite her believing him to be someone else! For Merlin's sake, it could be classified as rape! The cheek of him to be rude to her. She could have filed a report against him. It was after all, sex against her will on some level. _But you had enjoyed it, and you had wanted more._ A soft voice in her head reminded her. _And he had saved her, had been so caring the entire night…_ This puzzled her. _I love you, Hermione. Always have, always will. S_he wondered if she would have done it again, this time having known it was Draco. _Absolutely not, _she concluded too quickly. But a small part of her, shoved deep down in the troughs of her mind, acknowledged the fact that – she, Hermione Granger, may have developed some feelings for the ineffable Draco Malfoy throughout the course of the night. And that would perfectly explain her nervousness.

She checked the clock, _again._

_7.45pm. He was not coming. _She fell onto her sofa, startling Crookshanks.

It was then that her fireplace roared to life and she jumped up from the couch. She hurriedly checked her reflection against the mirror. She was in a casual yet chic black dress, it swirled softly around her mid-thighs, and played up her figure. Her hair was pulled loosely into a neat high pony-tail, giving her maturity a youthful edge.

Relief coursed through her veins as she saw Draco stepped through the fireplace. He looked impossibly handsome as usual, though that fact had only begun to dawn upon her since this morning. He had abandoned the stiff work attire she had seen him in this morning and had instead thrown on a black cashmere turtle neck over fitting jeans. _Not insufferably tight, but just right. _She noted as her eyes drank in the sight of him.

She closed the gap between them so quickly, Draco was sure that for a moment, she was about to hug him. But instead, she smiled at him nervously. 'I'm glad you made it.'

He tried his hardest not to stare at her. She was looking even better than she did this morning. _How was that even possible? _

He was so used to being rude to her that he was about to reply with 'Yeah, whatever. Let's get this over and done with'. But he stopped himself, they were not children anymore. He was here, and he might as well be nice to her.

'Granger,' he said in greeting. 'Sorry, I'm late.'

'I, uh, these are for you,' he held the bouquet of white lilies out to her.

'Why Malfoy, you shouldn't have! But these are my favourite, thank you!' A radiant smile illuminated her face and he knew then that he had made the right choice in coming.

His eyes followed her as she placed the lilies in an oriental patterned vase and set it on the dining table.

'Take a seat, I'll bring out the food,' she gestured to the table and disappeared into the kitchen.

He looked around the quaint, little apartment. She had books everywhere, neatly arranged alphabetically in shelves and racks. A larger shelf at the corner was dedicated to muggle books, he assumed, turning his head sideways to read the names of the authors. Most were unfamiliar.

He straightened up as he heard the clinking of glass on glass.

'I hope you're hungry,' she said.

'Starving,' he replied with a small smile as he walked over to sit at the dining table.

Joy sparkled in his cool grey eyes as he saw his favourite dish on the table.

'Lemon butter sauce! How did you know it's my favourite?' He asked before he could stop himself from sounding like an over-excited child.

'I have my means,' she replied with a wink.

After she had left his office, she had visited Harry for a favour.

* * *

><p>'<em>Harry, can you please call Dobby here for me? I have some urgent questions for him,' she had requested.<em>

'_Er, sure. What's so important?' He had asked._

'_Oh er, some elf welfare thing. Work, you know?' She answered. She had volunteered full time at the Non-wizard Welfare Association and was currently heading the Elfin Well-being Department._

'_Alright sure,' Harry closed his eyes, scrunched his face up and the next second, Dobby had appeared beside them._

'_Harry Potter! Dobby is pleased you called. Dobby is pleased to see Harry's good friend too. What can Dobby do for you, sir?' He beamed at them._

'_Er, not me. Hermione has a few questions for you, Dobby. Could you please help her?' Harry said to Dobby._

'_Of course! Dobby is pleased to help any friends of Harry Potter's,' he turned to Hermione. 'How can Dobby help, miss?'_

'_Alright, I'll leave the two of you alone,' he smiled and retreated to his room._

'_Thanks Harry!' Hermione called out._

_Hermione dropped her voice to a whisper. 'Dobby, I need to know what Draco Malfoy's favourite food is,' she blushed._

'_Oh, and please do not tell anyone I asked!' She added quickly._

'_Dobby will not tell,' he assured Hermione. 'Young master Draco loved Honeydukes Caramel Chocolate!'_

'_No no, I meant. Was there a dish he liked? Something he enjoyed during dinner,' she tried again._

_Dobby's face lit up. 'Seafood platter! Young master Draco loved the seafood platter best. Young master Draco loved prawns. He always asked for more. And lemon butter sauce! Young master Draco must have lemon butter sauce with prawns,'_

'_Thanks so much, Dobby! You are a life saver!' She smiled brightly at him._

'_Dobby is always pleased to help, miss! Anything for the friends of Harry Potter's,' he repeated. He was about to Disapparate when Hermione stopped him._

'_Wait! I've got something for you, for your help,' she pressed a pair of mismatched socks in his hands. _

_Dobby's eyes brimmed with joyful tears. 'Dobby is happy, miss. Dobby thanks Hermione Granger!' _

_She had then stopped by Honeydukes, while on her way to the seafood market, and picked up a pack of Caramel Chocolate. After which, she had spent the remaining of the day holed up in the kitchen, shooing her cats out when she had almost tripped over Dr. Peppers._

* * *

><p>'I'm sure,' he said. 'This is a nice place. Do you stay here alone?' He wondered briefly if she may be seeing someone new.<p>

She nodded. 'It's near my work place, just a ten minute walk away,'

'And your boyfriend?' He probed further.

'Oh, Ron and I? We broke up about a year ago,' she replied.

He found that he was relieved. He had read about it in the papers of course, they had called it the 'Greatest Breakup of our Time', but he just had to hear it from her.

She did not elaborate and neither did her ask. He nodded and took a sip from his glass. _Butterbeer._

'Still a fan of butterbeer, huh?' He asked. He knew the trio had been frequent visitors of The Three Broomsticks and had never failed to order butterbeers each time they visited.

'Always,' she replied and raised her own glass to him.

They ate in easy silence, the sound of metal meeting metal reverberating in the quiet of her apartment.

'So you read a lot, I see,' he broke the silence.

'Muggle books, mostly. I have loads of them, as you can see,' she paused, waiting for his judgement.

'Any good recommendations?' His question took Hermione by surprise.

'Oh, what genre are you interested in?' She asked.

'I'm a sucker for mystery novels,' he replied with a smile.

Hermione laughed. 'Well, you may take to Agatha Christie then. She's the Queen of Crime. I've got several of her books. You can browse through them later.'

And they launched into a lengthy discussion on the books they have read. She knew that the Malfoy's library was one of the most extensive in the whole of Britain. She had read all about their Wiltshire Manor, which was featured in an issue of _Home Affairs. _It was also one of the libraries mentioned in her copy of _Lavish Libraries in and around Wizarding London_. But all her life, she had thought that it contained mostly books on the dark arts. However, Draco proved her wrong today.

'Well, I disagree. They are goblins, foul, sly, calculating stumps. You can't expect them to comprehend fairness!' Draco argued.

'We, as witches and wizards, ought to accept them then! We should have integrated them into society, instead of ousting them, and treating them like they are beneath us. They are, after all, highly intelligent,' Hermione retorted.

'There you go! The fact that you believe that _we_ should be the one integrating them into society shows that a part of you thinks the society as _ours_. And I wouldn't call them intelligent, scheming is what they are,' He said triumphantly.

'You are so infuriating, Malfoy!' Hermione cried. She had never been bested in a battle of wits. But then again, there was never anyone, as learned as her, for her to argue with. It was rather refreshing.

'So I've heard,' he smirked and downed the last of his butterbeer.

Hermione rolled her eyes and started to clear the dishes.

'I know of a place which serves the best seafood platter,' Draco said.

'The best, you say? Well, I'm sure it can't hold a candle to mine,' she replied smugly. She prided herself on cooking well.

Confusion passed across Draco's face and Hermione explained the phrase.

He laughed. 'Wanna bet?'

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Draco. 'Challenge accepted,' she took Draco's outstretched hand.

'Game on,' he shook her hand.

'How's 7pm this Friday? I can meet you and we'll Apparate from here,' he asked.

'Sounds good,' she smiled, a small blush tinting her cheeks as she turned away on the pretence of entering the kitchen. _Did he just ask her out?_

When she emerged from the kitchen (he had offered to help but was chased out, 'What sort of host would I be if I let you do the dishes?'), she found him propped up on her couch beside her cats. They had been unusually well-behaved today and she was very appreciative. A stack of books stood beside him and he was looking at the back of one.

'You can borrow them all. I've read all of them.' She offered.

'I would, but I'm a busy ministry man after all,' he smirked.

'What's that?' He pointed to the brown paper bag she was holding.

'Oh, it's for you,' she held it up to him, shyly.

'Honeydukes Caramel Chocolate? Seriously, Granger! I need to know your means,' he looked at her, impressed.

Her eyes held a twinkle and she ignored his question. Instead, she said amusedly. 'The name's Hermione, you know?'

'And my name isn't Ron,' the words had slipped out so quickly that even he, himself, was shocked.

Hermione's smile faded and they stood staring at each other awkwardly for several heartbeats. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came to her mind.

Draco raked his fingers through his blond hair. _Sweet Salazar, what had he done? _They had sat through a very pleasant and almost cordial dinner and he had to ruin it._ Smooth Draco, very smooth._

'I, well, thanks for dinner, it was most pleasant. I, uh, it's getting late. I should get going,' he offered her a weak smile and moved towards the fireplace.

Hermione nodded mutely.

'Goodbye, Hermione.' The fireplace roared to life once more, and he was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: An anon reviewer brought up the fact (on Thirteen Hours) that, Draco having sex with Hermione, despite knowing that she had thought him to be someone else, was considered as rape.

I thank the reviewer and I am ashamed to admit that I had not considered it from that angle because in my story, it was actually Hermione who had asked for it, instigated it in fact. And the fact that she was willing and had enjoyed it, does that constitute as rape then?

Nonetheless I thought it to be a very strong and valid point, and so I have accounted for it through some of Hermione's thoughts in this chapter. And I have also added a warning on Thirteen Hours.

Penny for your thoughts?

Thanks for reviewing and sharing thoughts with me. I'm currently on holiday now touring London and the neighbouring cities so pardon me for my lag in updates!


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